Turkey Has A Decision To Make: F-35 or S-400?

[AM64]

I'd bet availability of the S-400 is higher than the F-35. A weapons system doesn't do much if it's inoperable ... if the airplane is sitting on the ground. The F-35A availability factor is something like 49.55%; the Navy version is far worse. Our military planners need to learn KISS.

 

[AM64]

Clean wings with internal stores and a heck of internal fuel fraction beats an F-16 with wing tanks every time. The one thing aviators always desire is Fuel, over thrust and performance. An uber fighter with limited range is worthless.

There is a reason that clean F-5's and F-16's are used at Red Flag as adversaries and even A-4's at Fallon.

The ONLY time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

[Orangeburst]

The ONLY time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

Old school thinking. Situational awareness is just as important

 

[Vol Main]

That sucks for anyone not USAF in an F35..know this, though...you can bet this has been known for a very long time. The ones who make battle plans and coordinate 24/7/365 air superiority on this entire planet know what to do and when. In the modern era, we have never NOT controlled the skies against a military opponent. 9.11 was a sucker punch that was honestly very, very cunning. Nothing like that will ever happen again.

F-35 was not designed as an air superiority fighter, and no number of them assigned to that role can make them into air superiority fighters. Its list of deficiencies for that role is long, and there are no fixes. F-35 was elevated to that role by politics(both national parties) against the strong opposition of all four military branches. The purpose of assigning F-35 to the role of air superiority fighter was to secure export sales, after export of F-22 was banned.

 

[NorthDallas40]

F-35 was not designed as an air superiority fighter, and no number of them assigned to that role can make them into air superiority fighters. Its list of deficiencies for that role is long, and there are no fixes. F-35 was elevated to that role by politics, against the strong opposition of all four military branches. The purpose of assigning F-35 to the role of air superiority fighter was to secure export sales, after export of F-22 was banned.

The F-35 is far from defenseless against any 4th generation fighter it has a very high probably of shooting first before the opposing fighter even knows it’s there. The F-35 strength is in its sensor and network technologies. No, it is not a dog fighter but it isn’t a lamb led to the slaughter far from it.

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

They are quickly becoming a radical islamist state and that isn't compatible with NATO.

That is news to me.